VCU Rams

Feb. 19, 2009

RAMS SURVIVE BATTLE WITH GEORGIA STATE
Hollingsworth has 21 points, 11 rebounds in 63-60 victory

RICHMOND, Va. – Sometimes a team wins by being good. Sometimes it wins by being tough. The Virginia Commonwealth University women’s team took the latter route at the Alltel Pavilion at the Stuart C. Siegel Center on Thursday night en route to a rugged 63-60 victory over a determined Georgia State squad.

VCU improved to 12-2 in the Colonial Athletic Association and 22-4 overall. It remains in a tie with Drexel for first place. Georgia State falls to 3-11, 11-14. VCU plays three of its final four regular season games on the road, starting with a 2 p.m. contest on Sunday at Hofstra.

The game wasn’t decided until the final moments. Senior Radoslava Bachvarova (Varna, Bulgaria) hit a pair of foul shots with 10 seconds left for the game’s final points. The Rams played stout defense as the clock wound down to prevent the Panthers from getting a reasonable shot at a tie.

“Every game the rest of the season is going to be who is willing to get dirty and win ugly,” VCU Coach Beth Cunningham said. “I think our kids showed a lot of toughness, a lot of poise. It is a great win here at home and I’m certainly proud of the way they stepped up and responded in a couple of key situations tonight.”

The Rams got a very strong performance from senior Quanitra Hollingsworth (Chesapeake, Va.), who had her 49th double-double of her career. “Q” finished with 21 points and 11 rebounds. Bachvarova had 10 points, including the decisive foul shots and a key 3-pointer late in the game. Junior Kita Waller (Gainesville, Ga.) added 11 points.

VCU was up six at the half and never trailed in the second half. But the Panthers rallied from five down with 2:28 to play to force a tie at 60-60 with 46 seconds to play, thanks to a 3-pointer from Brittany Hollins.

Junior La’Tavia Rorie (Charlotte, N.C.) hit one foul shot for the Rams to restore VCU to the lead. Bachvarova was fouled after the Rams’ defense forced a turnover.

“Give Georgia State credit. They hit a couple of threes late,” Cunningham said. “They stayed right with us the entire game. I think every time our team had to respond, they did. That’s the sign of a good team. When you have to respond, what are you going to do? I think our kids really stepped up. They did a great job finding a way to win the game.”

Hollingsworth had 15 of her points in the second half, many of them despite being bumped and pushed in what was a very physical contest in the lane.

“She was physical for us, certainly was a presence for us offensively, defensively and on the boards. It was a physical game. She did a great job staying in her game and now allowing herself to be taken out of it. She really stepped forward for us as a senior and is a big reason why we won,” Cunningham said.

Hollingsworth said the Rams can expect more of these types of games as they battle to finish at the top of the standings. The Rams have a return engagement at Georgia State on March 4 to close the regular season.

“From the first possession, it was rough,” Hollingsworth said. “We were taking a lot of shots that were in our offense but they weren’t falling. We had to keep doing what we know we can do, tough it out. No one’s going to give it to us. They weren’t going to roll over.

“Teams know our team is definitely strong, so they want to be physical and they want to try and get into our heads mentally. It was great that we came together, great that we pulled out a win. It’s not going to get any easier.”